Author

Jennifer Shutt

Jennifer Shutt

Jennifer covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include congressional policy, politics and legal challenges with a focus on health care, unemployment, housing and aid to families.

The U.S. Capitol at night. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt / States Newsroom)

Bipartisan group predicts U.S. debt default as soon as summer, depending on tax receipts

By: - February 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan think tank expects that the United States will default on its debt in the summer or early fall, if Congress doesn’t take action to address the debt limit before then.  The timeline is similar to one the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released last week, saying lawmakers have until sometime between July […]

U.S. Capitol (Photo: Jane Norman/States Newsroom)

U.S. likely to default on debt between July and September unless Congress acts, CBO says

By: - February 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — Congress has until at least July to broker a bipartisan debt agreement if lawmakers want to avoid a first-ever default, according to the Congressional Budget Office.  The nonpartisan scorekeeper, which typically details how much legislation would cost, released a report Wednesday saying that U.S. lawmakers and the Biden administration have until sometime between […]

An anti-abortion protester,left, squares off with abortion-rights during a July protest at the Tennessee Capitol. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Attorneys general from 23 GOP-led states back suit seeking to block abortion pill

By: - February 13, 2023

WASHINGTON — Attorneys general representing nearly two dozen Republican states are backing a lawsuit that would remove the abortion pill from throughout the United States after more than two decades, eliminating the option even in states where abortion access remains legal.   The state of Missouri filed its own brief in the case Friday while Mississippi […]

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 01: US President Joe Biden arrives to deliver the State of the Union address as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (L) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) look on during a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol House Chamber on March 1, 2022 in Washington, DC. During his first State of the Union address, President Joe Biden was expected to speak on his administration’s efforts to lead a global response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, work to curb inflation, and bring the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Saul Loeb - Pool/Getty Images)

Who’s on the guest list for the State of the Union speech?

By: and - February 7, 2023

WASHINGTON — While members of Congress may not be able to speak during the State of the Union address, they often get their message across through the guests they bring. This year is no exception. Lawmakers through their invitees attempted to signal their approval or disapproval of President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party, or […]

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) photographed July 26, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

U.S. House speaker calls for ‘responsible’ debt limit legislation, shares few details

By: - February 7, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday said the greatest threat to the nation’s future is the rising national debt, though he gave few specifics for how he planned to lower deficit spending or avoid a first-ever default on the debt this year.  The California Republican, in a 10-minute address from the U.S. […]

The Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. lit up at night. (Photo: Getty Images)

Of more than 7,500 threats against members of Congress in 2022, just 22 prosecuted

By: - February 1, 2023

WASHINGTON —  Members of Congress receive thousands of threats a year, though just a fraction of the people who call, mail or email will ever be prosecuted — a situation that’s of great concern to the police who guard members. Just 22 of the 7,501 threats lobbed at members during 2022 led to prosecution, the […]

Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger sets the state’s election calendar and he’s shown little interest in accommodating the new primary calendar Democrats are proposing. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder (File Oct. 2022)

National Dems give New Hampshire, Georgia more time to change 2024 primary dates

By: - January 26, 2023

WASHINGTON — New Hampshire and Georgia will have a bit longer to implement key changes to when and how they hold Democratic presidential primaries, under an extension a Democratic National Committee panel approved Wednesday.  Election officials will have until June 3 to move New Hampshire’s 2024 Democratic presidential primary to Feb. 13 and Georgia’s to […]

A rally in support of abortion rights drew hundreds to downtown Nashville on Saturday, May 14, 2022. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Federal judge could decide as soon as February to yank abortion pill nationwide

By: - January 23, 2023

WASHINGTON — A Texas judge could decide as soon as next month whether to force the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to pull its two-decade-old approval of the abortion pill, which accounts for more than half of pregnancy terminations in the United States.  A nationwide injunction in the case, as requested by anti-abortion groups, would […]

The U.S. Capitol. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

U.S. hits debt limit and Treasury Department begins ‘extraordinary measures’

By: - January 20, 2023

WASHINGTON — The nation reached its debt limit Thursday, beginning the uncertain process known as extraordinary measures, in which the U.S. Treasury Department uses accounting maneuvers to avoid defaulting on the debt.  The often-used practice is intended to give the Republican House, Democratic Senate and Biden administration time to negotiate a bipartisan agreement to raise […]

President Joe Biden. Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

White House defends delay in revealing classified documents at Biden private office, home

By: - January 17, 2023

WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday defended sitting on information about Obama administration classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s private residence and a think tank, saying officials are attempting to balance working with the Justice Department and sharing information publicly.  “We understand that there’s a tension between the need to be cooperative with […]

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during an event at the Justice Department on June 15, 2021. Photo by Win McNamee | Getty Images

U.S. attorney general names special counsel for classified docs found in Biden’s garage

By: and - January 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — The White House revealed Thursday morning that more classified documents from President Joe Biden’s time as vice president were discovered outside of secure government facilities, this time in the garage at his Wilmington, Delaware home.  The files have since been turned over to the U.S. Justice Department, which opened a special counsel investigation […]

(Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

U.S. House Republicans push through two anti-abortion measures in first work week

By: - January 11, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Wednesday approved its first  measures under a new Republican majority, eliciting strong support from GOP members and opposition from Democrats, who rejected the legislation as misleading and incomplete.  Republicans, who secured a four-seat majority during the November midterm elections, said the bill setting medical standards on a national level […]